About

Justice Velocity: An Action Movie Inspired Tabletop RPG

$1,790

pledged of $1,500 goal

48

backers

What is the velocity of justice? Many say it’s difficult to quantify-- that it even evades common metrics of measurement or full understanding by the rule of law. One thing’s for sure, however: you should be able to gauge it as it comes hurtling towards you. Hands grip steering wheels as rubber grips concrete. Seedy underbellies trade bullets with the law and set moral shades of gray ablaze. Napalm and nitrous are as indispensable as your ability to hack or maneuver cold machinery.

Inspired by action movies like the Fast & Furious franchise, Rush Hour, or Bad Boys and anime like Initial D-- Justice Velocity puts you in the driver’s seat. It’s an exercise in collaborative storytelling that puts the stakes of a race or the fate of deadly computer viruses up to your players’ skills, abilities, and the roll of the dice.

Art by Anders Karlsson

Justice Velocity is 2d6-based and relatively rules-lite. All you need to play are some standard 6-sided dice, some pens and paper, the book, and a group of friends. With quick and easy character design, Justice Velocity invites tabletop newcomers and veterans alike to leap quickly into the action movie universe. The core book covers Character Creation, Vehicle Rules, Abilities, Items & Equipment, an Adventure Synopsis, and more!

Justice Velocity is a game of heists, hijinks, espionage, and fast cars. The game's mechanics encourage players to push situations into overdrive with High Octane Mode and spend Juice Points on triggering wild abilities. There are also a variety of rules for conducting high speed chases, street races, and vehicular combat so that you can always keep the action rolling:

Octane Chips - Octane Chips are used once per session to trigger High Octane Mode. Players slam their chip on the table and receive a bonus to any roll--giving them the boost they need to make the impossible happen.

Juice and Abilities - Players can expend Juice Points to trigger Abilities such as Ultimate Drift, Gunslinger, and Activated Strength.

Dynamic Vehicle Rules - Whether it's a drag race to the next light or a chase sequence throughout the entire city, Justice Velocity lays out vehicle rules no game master should be without, including: Position-Based Racing, Cumulative Racing, and Car Combat/Action Sequences. There's even a table for generating random events during vehicle sequences such as back alley shortcuts, banana peel hazards, and oil spills.

The book also walks you through the character creation process by introducing you to archetypes essential to any action movie story:

The Gunner

The Driver

The Hacker

The Medic

The Mechanic

The Face

The Muscle/Martial Artist

Art by Anders Karlsson

Justice Velocity gives you and your players as many tools as possible to live out your action movie dreams. There are 20 pieces of unique art (and a cover) designed by Anders Karlsson, layout design by Nathan Paoletta, and 16,000+ words from Clipper Arnold which lay the groundwork for 42 Items/Equipment, 24 Skills, 21 Vehicle Upgrades, 16 Abilities, and 7 Archetypes--all in one book.

Sample spread by Nathan Paoletta

Sample spread by Nathan Paoletta

Most Justice Velocity games will presumably take place in present-day settings. They involve street racers, clashes with the law, and staying on the edge. That being said, Justice Velocity is relatively adaptable. It could be a game about local teenagers racing down the mountain or cops chasing down bad guys. It could be about an 80s undercover narcotics division in Miami or it could be about futuristic cyberpunk motorcycle gangs.

The game is just about complete. There are a few tweaks to be made in terms of copy-editing. The layout design still needs to be finalized to make it print-ready and a little bit more dynamic. Other than that, all of the illustrative art has already been commissioned/produced and the game has undergone beta-testing over the past couple of years to ensure optimal fun and playability.

We're essentially coming to Kickstarter at this final point in the design phase to help us afford the cost of finishing and producing the product. Much of the money from this Kickstarter will go towards funding the initial print run of books, fulfilling backer rewards, and paying for the finalized layout design. T-shirts will be locally screen-printed and book printing and fulfillment will be done through DriveThruRPG.

In return for helping make this book a reality, you'll receive various rewards--not only a copy of the book itself, but also Justice Velocity t-shirts, online game sessions, and custom-designed character sheets. You can find more information on rewards in the side panel.

Mock-ups of T-shirt design and softcover book (subject to change)

There’s something exhilarating about sending Hot Wheels down a track into their doom. There’s something thrilling about unnecessary explosions. There’s something amazing about seeing whether or not a car can jump over the opening of a live volcano. Justice Velocity is an unapologetic, adrenaline-fueled romp which delves into the nature of exergy and machine fetishism. It pushes physics, bodies, and systems to their limits. When justice calls, sometimes it’s the gruff, meat-headed, cargo-pants-donning voice of utilitarianism that picks up the phone. This is a foray into that universe... one in which steel, muscle, and ingenuity can prevail and save the world from certain peril.

Justice Velocity is a game written and designed by Clipper Arnold and Polyhedra Games. Clipper Arnold is a writer/musician/game-designer currently living in Los Angeles. You can keep up with Justice Velocity and Polyhedra Games on social media @PolyhedraGames:

The art for Justice Velocity was created by Anders Karlsson. Layout design is being done by Nathan Paoletta, who is known for World Wide Wrestling, his work on Trouble for Hire, and various other roleplaying games. Thanks also to Dillon Vaughn, who directed, shot, and edited the featured Kickstarter video, and Jacob Byers, who designed the title card and headers. Thanks to Chase and Kari for being phenomenal extras in the video.

Stretch Goals:

In the event that we exceed our initial funding goal, there are some extras we have in mind:

$2,000 - Additional Art, Content, and Pregenerated Character Sheets

We'll commission more artwork for the book! Some of this will be alongside the pieces we already have, and some will be for pregenerated character sheets for each archetype--which can be used as reference for building your own characters, or for jumping right into the action. We'll also add another 2,000+ words of content which further detail various items, abilities, vehicles, equipment, and more. This stretch goal will be included in the PDF and print run.

$3,000 - Justice City Sourcebook

A 20+ page expansion PDF which details and maps out the metropolitan 'Justice City' and all of its nooks and crannies: secret headquarters and meeting spots, the diviest bars, and the best mechanic shops. Feds, hackers, and other NPCs will be detailed, and more equipment and vehicles will be laid out. It's a document that gives you as many tools as possible to enhance your Justice Velocity sessions. The Justice City Sourcebook PDF will be free for all backer levels.

$4,000 - Nazoma Compound Adventure Module

Another 20+ page expansion PDF which takes players into the Nazoma Compound, a locked down shipping warehouse at the center of an international corporate smuggling ring. It's a modern urban dungeon crawl full of rampaging forklift drivers, frenzied security guards, and a secret underground lab. The final boss is Beef Jezos, a high ranking CEO in a nuclear-powered mecha suit. It's a full-fledged adventure module which will detail every enemy, NPC, encounter, chase sequence, and more. The Nazoma Compound Adventure Module PDF will be free for all backer levels.

Risks and challenges

As stated, the layout design is yet to be finalized. I've never printed a book before. I have, however, printed and shipped t-shirts, zines, and CDs in the past. I anticipate pricing to be accurate and the time frame to be reasonable. For those interested in the game session, know that Skype connectivity can be tricky sometimes.

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Complete Funding Premium Package

In return for fully funding this project, the creator of Justice Velocity will handle his own housing and travel accommodations to fly to your city and host a game session for up to 5 players. You'll also receive PDFs, hardcover copies, and t-shirts for everyone in your gaming group as well as personally designed and illustrated character sheets for your whole party.